Bob Marley is one of my all-time favorite heroes

I’ve been listening to Bob Marley for 20 years. The more I listen, the more I like it, the more I feel it, and the more I feel connected to him. I do not however admire the whole man as a person, just his music and the way he delivered it to the world. This is the case, I think with many of my Heroes. I tend to project and believe that someone is perfect in every way, when it is really just the parts that I see which I admire. With Bob Marley, it’s just the Music.

He had 11 children with seven different women. He spoke of love and peace and one love. It’s easy to be charitable and kind to strangers, but it is difficult to stay close to your family. Strangers go away, family is forever. One Love is easy with everyone; it is very difficult one on one!

I’ve been married for 20 years; I still love my wife very much. She is not perfect, nor am I, but we do have ONE LOVE.

My greatest joy in life is being with my daughter. If I had 11 children with 7 different women, I don’t know how I would be able to really connect with my little girl. I do become obsessed with my heroes, I become envious and I fantasize that I wish I were like them. But I could not and would not give up my relationship with my little girl to be Bob Marley.

But his music…his music is magical. His story, his struggles as an artist, his early death, and his vision is legendary. I do love his music, but I don’t think I love the man. I can’t get an image out of my mind though, when I was a kid I used to watch a TV show called Kung Fu. There was an episode where an artist died and Kwi Chang in an attempt to comfort the grieving family said “is this just a statue (the man’s art) or is it the man himself. So is his music just music? Or is it the man himself?

I say…it IS the man himself. I don’t have to worry about his personal relationships, they don’t affect me. I just get to dream about how he must have felt on stage, being and doing what he did best.